Eric Ebron: Lions will use me like Saints use Jimmy Graham

Asked how he thinks he’ll be used in Detroit, Ebron noted that Lions offensive coordinator Joe Lombardi spent the last five years in New Orleans, five years in which Graham developed into the best receiving tight end in the NFL.

Although the 6-foot-4 Ebron isn’t quite the matchup nightmare that the 6-foot-7 Graham is, Ebron is a dangerous receiver with the speed to catch deep balls and the strength to go over the middle.

“They are not exactly the same players but they are both very athletic guys,” Lombardi said of Ebron and Graham. “Jimmy has a little bit more length while Eric has a little more quickness. There are some things that we did with Jimmy in New Orleans that we will be able to do with Eric and maybe some things we can do with Eric that we didn’t do with Jimmy.”

Lions fans aren’t questioning Ebrons talent, we’re questioning the reasoning. If we were going to get a Tight End, why re-sign Pettigrew to 5M a year? I felt if we were going offense in the 1st round, it should’ve been all in for Sammy Watkins. A tight end is a luxury pick, and i just felt we have more pressing needs, such as S, OLB, and CB. I’m not upset that we drafted Eric Ebron, i’m upset we drafted a Tight End in the first round.

The Ebron hype is unfounded. He is not as big or fast as Kelvin Benjamin, who is listed as a WR. His success came as a slot receiver last year who was too big for tiny DBs.

He is nowhere near as fast as Vernon Davis or as big as Graham. He’s a slow WR or a small TE. Nothing special. Not a 1st round pick. The kid from Washington is massive and gets down field. He is the best TE in the draft.

We’ll see how they use him. You can’t predict that the guy you like/want will be there, and Pettigrew was the best option at TE in free agency. It’s not like they resigned him on the first day to a huge deal, they got a fair deal, and if Ebron was their #2 offensive player over Evans then pull the trigger.

Great pick! Defenses will have nightmares trying to figure out who to cover! Stafford throws for 5500.00 yards! You heard it here first!

duck99 says:May 9, 2014 8:29 AM

Weird pick. Pettigrew and also Fauria are already there. This isn’t baseball where everyone gets 4 or 5 at bats per game. There’s only one ball that must be shared and that’s a ton of money invested in the passing game.

I was hoping Evans fell to us, however, Ebron fits the bill. Keeping Pettigrew for 2 yrs adds a veteran eliment to the position. This kids ceiling is high, so in 2 years if he pans out we can get rid of Pettigrew or possibly have some trade value for him.

Also I understand we have defensive needs, but we do have a stable of young cbs andAustin may have the ability to get more out of them. We were 23 against the pass last year but we also had our share of injuries too. We weren’t 23 the year before.

So, let’s say we’re the #1 offense in the NFC…if Stafford can get the ball to people and these guys can hold on. Can we do it against the best defenses? Broncos couldn’t. I don’t mind having a potent scary offense, but the coaching on that side of the ball this year had better be dramatically improved.

The Lions must think that defense is just a fad. Why draft a TE after paying Pettigrew all that money, while all the safeties and most of the corners were still there? Their offense was not the problem. Glaring holes on defense…draft a TE, Lions logic.

r8dernation says:May 9, 2014 9:23 AM

The Saints use Graham the way they do because they don’t have a Calvin Johnson. There’s no room on the Lions for a Graham type TE.

I was surprised at this pick at first but the more I think about it the more I lkie it. I’m tired of watching Pettigrew play hot potato with the ball, and if he cathes it, he holds it like a loaf of bread.

I am one of the few that like this pick. Pettigrew can’t seem to hang on to the ball and I like Fauria, but it was a few touchdowns in a few games. Is he going to he to get better or worse? Also, think of Fauria and Ebron lined up with Calvin and Tate and bush in the back field? I like that line up.

People keep saying why do this after resigning Pettigrew. Well, because he was the top pick left on their board. Like it or not, that is how Mayhew drafts. Also, Pettigrew is only guaranteed one season @ $4M, after that they can cut ties with him. Also, they are not Nostradamus, they couldn’t have known they were going to get Ebron when they signed Pettigrew. They signed Pettigrew because he was a need at the time. The now drafted Ebron because he’s better than Pettigrew. The guys they wanted more were gone so they took the next guy up on their board.

Pretty simple logic when you think about it. Now, they could have waited more than 3 seconds to make the pick, but it doesn’t make it a bad pick in any way.

Ebron is talking the talk. He better be able to walk the walk. I hate these kids who compare themselves to superstars before they’ve even played a down. The kid needs a reality check. This isn’t college anymore, it’s the NFL.

Pettigrew is more of a blocker. I’ll give him credit for working to improve his receiving skills, but we’ve all seen him drop passes – sometimes heartbreakers.

Drafting Ebron puts Fauria’s job in danger. I think the saving grace for Fauria will be that (as a walk on) he’s probably got a low salary. I can see the Lions getting interest for Fauria and trading him.

The kid is a flatout beast! Id be happy if I was a detroit fan because lemme tell ya, as a hawks fan, golden tate is not the guy thats gonna take your offense to the next level! Pettigrew is unreliable thougj a good blocker. No more triple teaming Megatron, although it rarely matters, but you guys are gonna be a very potent offense! Plus, you finally got rid of that bum of a head coach and brought some professionalism and discipline to detroit which is exactly what you needed. I see you guys taking over the nfc north. Could still use a good corner though. D-line is tremendous, lbs are solid.